I've recently acquired a .223 bolt gun with a 1-8" twist barrel that I dearly want to love. I will use this rifle for culling small game, hogs and exotic deer on a large ranch here in Texas. Most shots will be 50-100 yds and I would like a tough, heavy for caliber bullet for this application.

In the past with 1-12" twist barrels I've gotten along well with 60 gr Partition, 60 gr Hornady FB and Barnes X's.

The 70+ grain selection has gotten rather large for .224 and I'm clueless but I am mostly concerned with bullet integrity whilst hitting some bone.

What would all recommend for this application?

Thanks in advance for everyone's help.

BBQ

If you care about meat waste- Barnes.

If you want more emphatic kills, but still want to limit meat destruction- 75gr Swift Scirocco or 75gr Speer Gold Dot.

If you want the most decisive kills- 77rg Sierra Tipped Matchking, Hornady 75gr ELD-M

I've never used it on game, but get very good accuracy in two .223s, a 1 in 7" and a 1 in 9" using the 65 Game King boat tail soft point.

After seeing your pics on here Form I’ve started using the 77TMK in my AR. Haven’t shot any animals yet but I bet it won’t be long.

Let me know how they do for you.

I haven't killed a deer with this bullet yet but the Hornady 62 grain sp-bt is really shooting great out of my 1-8" twist.

Is there a Accubond in the real world?

If they worked in your 1-12, they will work in your 1-8.....
Why look for something to engage heavy bone in a .224 bore at 50-100yds? You can shoot them in the eye at that distance with damn near anything and it will be good...

I'm not particularly a fan of .224 bullets for deer and hogs, but......



If you ear hole/CNS shot a 50 gr. Nosler Ballistic tip will do the job.

Other than that I have had acceptable results with the 60 Gr. Nosler Partition, the 64 Gr. Nosler Solid Base, and the 70 gr. TSX






Other bullet for sure, but those have worked for me. With the Noslers, there is no problem with OAL and magazine restraints in an AR.

ya!

GWB

My daughter used a Nosler 64 gr bonded solid base with great success. Was a complete pass through leaving a 3/4" hole upon exit.

For those ranges most hunting bullets will work and no need to go to heavies really.
I'd look at Barnes TTSX in 55 or 62 Gr.
Speer Gold Dots in 55 or 62 Gr.
Sierra 63 gr. SMP


Ive used all of these on hogs and would again...

I've had great success using the 60 grain Partition on deer through my 1-12, 22-250. The 62 grain TTSX has also proved to be a killer also.

Recently, I was helped my 11-year nephews get their RAR, 1-8 twisted, 22-250's sighted in and the handloaded 60 grain Partitions shot well. They went on to kill a couple deer last week and the results were text-book perfect on shots from 15 yards and 265.

I'm one who's always believed in hunting bullets for hunting and target bullets for targets, but I trust Formidilosus in his bullet choices so I'm going to try the 75gr Hornady ELD-M this season in my 1-9 22-250. Accuracy is great, we'll see what happens on whitetails. My shots are rarely under 200yds maybe they will hold together well enough at 22-250 speeds.

Have you seen a noticeable difference on game between the 55 and 62 gr. Gold Dots ?

Put them in the ribs, no problems. Hit bone and they’ll make a mess. They kill decisively either way.

77 tmk is a killer?
Hmmmm...

Mo better than a 75 gold dot???

All don’t shoot them only when they are motionless.

Significantly more tissue destruction. The 75gr GD’s are great bullets. The 77gr TMK’s are almost too much for deer.

I'm going to try the 75 Gold Dot. I had no idea of the construction of some of these heavy for caliber .224 "target" bullets. Thanks for the info!

What bullet do you suggest for shooting moving game with a .224 Cal?😂

I'll be running them in a new barrel today. I'm hoping for good results. I may even take one of my old rifles and see how they fare. May take a while to break in the new barrel. From what I hear the 77TMK is a killer for sure. Passes the FBI penetration tests when the 73 gr. ELD match bullet wouldn't even come close. I may be making a switch if they shoot as good as form and others have said...

We’ve been knocking the snot out of deer with the 55gr ttsx for a few years now.

That’s what I’d recommend.

They are good deer killers BSA. My boy took a few deer with them at 2900 from a 223. Worked just like Form mentioned. Blew chucks up decent too.

55&62 TSX has worked. I suspect they would also do so in Texas.

Addition: Makes no difference if they are standing or moving. Shoot them up front and those two work the same. What say you? Agree or disagree?

I found your pictures on Rokslide...
I AM a believer!
Brutal.

I have used the 77TMK on a few deer now and brutal is a good description

Latest victim.

Antelope, 186 yards, nearly straight on. This is exit side.

Shoot them forward of the diaphragm and it makes no difference whether they're running all out or standing still. I've killed them on the run with ordinary 55 gr sp's no problem {Hornady, Win. and Nosler}. One big buck cartwheeled instantly from a quartering away shot that hit near the last rib and ranged forward into the off shoulder. That was back in the early 90's with the old 55 gr Nosler solid base atop a stiff load of 3031.

Right on man. This is how the new barrel shoots. I'm pretty happy with the 77 TMK, accuracy wise... crappy day to be shooting though:

That's the way it works....

https://www.brownells.com/reloading/bullets/rifle-bullets/tipped-matchking-bullets-prod80584.aspx

Do all the tmk s work the same?

They are similar in performance, but that performance varies.

In General- lighter for caliber will have a bit wider, shallower wound channel. Heavier for caliber will have a deeper, slightly less wide wound channel.

I know this bullet is short enough to use in a 1 in 9 inch twist but I bought a thousand of them a while back. The Hornady 75 gr HPBT match bullet with cannelure has killed all I have shot with it. Gives pretty good penetration and is able to break bone. I like it for neck and spine CNS hits on feral hogs.

An inexpensive option is the old Speer 70 grain semi spitzer. The low BC will not be an issue at the ranges your shooting. It was designed for Deer and predators in the 223 as the heaviest bullet that would stabilize with a 1-12 twist. In a fast twist it works even better.

For bone I would go with any of the mono bullets.

I don’t care for the .224 bullet for hunting, but I’ve had decent luck on hogs with 55 grain Barnes. Just be prepared for them to run a while with anything other than a central nervous system hit.

Many good choices. 75 grain Hdy HPBT kill things with authority, but don't expect exits. The 62 grain Fusions work well if you insist on exits, but the wound channel nor blood trails are very impressive. The old 64 grain Power Point kills well too.

My AR shoots the 75 grain Speer Gold Dot ammunition very well. I'm thinking about loading that bullet for it when I run out of the factory stuff. My AR also likes the 62 gr. Barnes TTSX. I've killed a ton of pigs, sheep and deer with the 64 gr. PowerPoint as well.

Interesting. My fiance shoots all kids of stuff with her 22/250 and the 50 gr. TTSX and nothing has gone over 30 feet. Double lung shots always.

Same one I would use if they weren’t.

My favorite bullet for a 1-8” twist is the Berger 80gr VLD, they work very well on every kind of game I have tried them on. I also like the Sierra 65gr SBT.
I must admit the 62gr ttsx worked very well on a deer hunt that I had to use mono’s, tricky to get to shoot good though

I can only attest to this bullets inconsistency, sometimes it fragments after some penetration and sometimes it tumbles and exits. It is however a good general purpose working bullet for doing things like killing hogs in traps, deer on feeders and hogs at night.

62 Barnes kills 200 lb pigs with ease.

Which of the 3 he listed are you talking about?

The 75 grain Hornady BTHP match, with cannelure.